Nigeria’s top seeds, Olajide Omotayo and Offiong Edem have qualified for the 2024 Olympic Table Tennis tournament after sterling performances in the African qualifying today.
Offiong became the first Nigerian to make the Paris games after a resilient 4-2 victory over Tunisia’s Fadwa Garci in the ladies semifinals of the qualifying at the largest indoor arena in East Africa, BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda’s largest city.
The 37 year old former African champion Offiong will become a 5-time Olympian when the games serve off in July.
In the men’s event, another Nigerian Olajide Omotayo secured his ticket to Paris with a
dominant 4-0 win over Congo-Brazzaville’s Saheed Idowu in the semis.
This would be Omotayo’s 2nd appearance at the Olympics.
The African qualifying is being played in three stages.
The first stage features preliminary groups of three or four players each.
The winners and runners-up from these groups will advance to the second stage, which consists a direct knockout system.
The two finalists of the second stage will automatically qualify for Paris, while the losers of the semi-finals in the third stage will play a direct knockout to determine the third qualifier for Paris.
The competition concludes tomorrow 18 May 2024.
Tag: tennis
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Aruna Quadri has reclaimed the International Table Tennis Federation ITTF Africa Cup title after losing three previous consecutive finals.
The Nigerian ping ponger outclassed Egypt’s Mohamed EL Beiali 4-0 in the final of 2024 edition today in Kigali, Rwanda.
Speaking after his triumph, Quadri referenced his humble begining which he said fired him up in the Kigali event.
“I never gave up on my dream, it doesn’t matter where you come from, I came from a small place in Oyo state in Nigeria, and it was really difficult growing up, I just want to tell them that something great is very possible to happen in every individual,” Aruna explained.
This is Quadri’s first Africa Cup title since 2017 having lost in 3 consecutive finals, while Mohamed EL Beiali vied for his maiden singles crown.
ITTF Africa Cup is one of the continent’s most prestigious table tennis competitions, second only to the African Championships. -
Seun Ogunsakin’s impressive outing in J30 tennis championship in Tunisia has continued to bode well for the Nigerian prodigy.
His championship winning effort in Tunisia at the weekend has translated into a 100 spot climb in the latest Junior ITF rankings released yesterday.
The former African no. 1 U-14 player won the J30 tournament in Tunisia without dropping a set, adding it to the two he previously won in Abuja early this year.
According to the latest ranking, the 15 year old Ogunsakin is now 510th in the world, moving astronomically from the 611th spot he occupied prior to the commencement of the Tunisian tournament.
This new ranking is also the highest the Tunisia-based youngster has ever attained since he started playing ITF competitions a few years ago.
He now occupies 24th in the log of African players in the ITF rankings and is closing the gap on Daniel Adeleye, Nigeria’s highest ranked junior tennis player, who is currently ranked 332nd in the world.
Meanwhile, Ohunene Yakubu dropped 7 spots in the recent rankings after failing to reach the final of the J30 event recently held in Tunisia.
She currently sits as the 581st ranked junior player in the world and among the top 30 on the African continent as she continues with her tennis development at the ITF High Performance Centre in Tunisia. -
Table tennis star Aruna Quadri’s loss in the Saudi Smash yesterday has been attributed to his opponent’s masterful scouting of the Nigerian player..
South Korea’s Daeseong Cho admitted that he was well educated on how to demystify Aruna in the third round of the WTT event.
The 21-year-old defeated the Nigerian 3-2 to qualify for the quarterfinal of the men’s singles in Jeddah.
Aruna’s exploits in previous rounds at the Saudi event contrasted with his third-round tie against South Korea’s Daeseong Cho who accounted for his exit in the tournament.
In the first-round tie against Indian legend Sharath Achanta, the Nigerian saved three match points to beat the Indian, repeating the same feat against South Korea’s Lee Sang-su in the second round.
But on Wednesday, May 8, he failed to capitalise on his luck against the Southpaw Korean.
Despite taking a 2-0 (11-6, 11-7) lead in the match, Aruna was taken aback as he fell 5-11, 9-11 in the third and fourth games to allow the Korean to level up the tie.
Cho turned the tide against the Nigerian to end the clash at 13-11 for the match to finish 3-2 in favour of the 21-year-old Korean star.
For his last 16 effort in Saudi Arabia, Aruna will be rewarded with 175 ranking points which will surely rub off positively on his rating next week. -
Lagos will stage the first edition of the 2024 World Table Tennis WTT Contender Series from 17 to 23 June 2024.
The game’s global governing body selected Lagos as one of host cities for its three events earmarked for Africa.
WTT also confirmed that the Lagos tournament would provide ranking points for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
In the final calendar released by WTT over the weekend, Lagos will welcome some of the best Table Tennis players in the world in June.
According to the event Director of the WTT Contender Series in Lagos, Dr. Kweku Tandoh, it is obvious that WTT management is impressed with what the city of Lagos put up in 2023 as they did not hesitate in approving the city to host the second edition this year.
“We are indeed overwhelmed with the impressive appraisal by the management of WTT, of the maiden edition in 2023. Apart from the WTT team, the players and coaches are eager to return to Lagos following the massive support from the Lagos fans as well as the warm hospitality of Lagosians.
“This year, we will improve on what we did in 2023 and hope that we can continue to raise the bar when it comes to hosting major international competitions. The players are eager to come back to Lagos and we will welcome them and continue to put Lagos on the world table tennis map,” he said.
Tandoh, who is also the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF), applauded the Lagos State Government under the leadership of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for providing an enabling environment for the sport to thrive, and for the state’s unflinching support.
After Lagos, the city of Tunis will host the second WTT Series later in the year. -
Nigeria dominated the ITTF West Africa Regional Table Tennis Championship in Togo by claiming the men’s and women’s singles crowns at the weekend.
Emerging talents and African Games medalists, Matthew Kuti and Hope Udoaka made mince meat of their opponents by respectively winning the men’s and women’s titles in the West Africa Regional Championship.
Despite fielding a team of junior players, the reigning champions Nigeria successfully defended her titles in both categories as well as the women’s team to emerge top performers at the 2024 West Africa Qualification Championships.
Kuti emerged as the West African Champion, following his incredible triumph over Ivorien Oba Oba Kizito 4-1 (11-5, 4-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-7) in the men’s singles final in Lome.
The 2024 Africa Games Bronze medallist was in remarkable shape throughout the singles, recording a notable 4-0 victory over home favourites Fanny Kokou and Mawussi Agbetoglo in the round of 16 and semi-finals respectively before ultimately claiming the championship over 2019 champion Oba on Saturday night.
In the women’s singles, another Nigerian protege, Hope Udoaka was unstoppable, dominating her opponents without dropping a single set en route to victory.
Following Udoaka’s contribution to Nigeria’s success in the women’s team event a day before, the reigning West Africa University champion dominated the final against the more experienced Ajoke Ojomu to secure a comprehensive 4-0 win (12-10, 11-6, 11-3, 11-9) over the 2023 finalist.
The three day tournament saw participation from over 32 men and 29 women representing countries like Benin Republic, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria, Senegal, and host nation Togo.
The winners in Lome will compete against other regional champions on the big stage at the 2024 African Championships, scheduled to be held in Ethiopia later this year. -
Nigeria’s 3rd ranked tennis player Khadjat Mohammed will hope to continue her winning form today when she faces Nadine Hamrouni from Tunisia, in the second round of the African Junior Championships (AJC) in Algeria.
To progress, the J30 Abuja winner played against Modjo Okomo from Equatorial Guinea in one of the second matches of the day, comfortably beating her opponent 6-1, 6-1.
In the men’s version, Seun Ogunsakin, could not see off his Egyptian opponent Samih Mostafa, as the Nigerian lost in a final set battle.
In what looked like an upset, Mostafa, ranked 893 in the world junior rankings, took out Nigeria’s Ogunsakin, rated 628 and the tournament’s number four seed with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 win.
The Nigerian teenager will now focus on the AJC Doubles event where he is the tournament’s number two seed, alongside Rosa De Arajue from Mozambique.
In the order of play for Wednesday, 17 April, Ohunene Yakubu, the tournament’s number four seed, will play against Algeria’s Houdar Benamar for a place in the quarterfinal of the tournament. -
Nigeria tennis players can be rest assured of home support in the 2024 Davis Cup Africa Group II qualifying rounds after the country secured rights to host the event.
The tennis players qualified for Group III of the Davis Cup alongside Ghana, following a superb run in Kigali, Rwanda, in 2023.
The Nigerian quintet of David Ekpenyong, Uche Oparaoji, Wilson Igbinovia, Peter Lawal and Christopher Bulus, guided by Coach Benson Ishicheli, were at their prolific best in Rwanda, where they sealed qualification to Group III.
Going by the hosting right confirmation, qualification for Group II will be staged in the country’s capital, Abuja after the bid to host the event was submitted early this year.
When asked by correspondent Damilare Okunola about the hosting right to the Davis Cup Qualifying, the president of the Nigeria Tennis Federation Engr. Ifedayo Akindoju said, “Yes, 15th July.”
An indication that Nigeria will be hosting the event from 15 July 2024.
Also confirming the news was the Secretary General of the Federation, Makpa Aliyu, who noted that it has now been made official by the ITF via a letter sent to the national body.
He said: “Yes, I can now confirm to you that Nigeria will be hosting the Davis Cup Group III qualifier this year.
“I have the letter sent by the ITF with me and I can confirm it to you, officially, that we are preparing to host the other nations.”
Namibia, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Ivory Coast, Benin and Nigeria will be competing for two slots in Group II during the qualifying round. -
Tennis players and fans will not be able to enjoy the excitement of this year’s Central Bank of Nigeria CBN Open after organisers decided to put a hold on the competition.
The annual Championship which had consistently held for the last 45 years would take a break for the 2024 tennis season.
Confirming the development, the president of the Nigeria Tennis Federation Engr. Ifedayo Akindoju, however, explained that in the absence of the CBN Open, two other national events had been slated for the month of May.
They are the DavNotch and VEMP tennis tournaments.
This provisionally leaves tennis players in Nigeria with three national tournaments tentatively; the VEMP Open, DavNotch Senior Championship and the Dala Hard Court.